2-geography and world environmental problems

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Geography and WorldEnvironmental Problems

GEOG 200

Dr James D. Ford

Dept. of Geography

Thursday September 8th


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Overview

1. What is a world environmental problem?

2. What is Geography?

3. (Re)Emergence of environmental issues in

geography4. Geographical perspectives in practice

We will have some interactive sessions today


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Learning outcomes

Be able to describe the key features of ageographical approach

Be able to apply a geographical approach to

understand a world environmental problem


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1. What is a World

Environmental Problem


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Environmental Problems

Environmental problem = condition of thebiophysical environment which negativelyaffects humans. Maybe caused by humanactivities or be entirely natural


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Environmental Problems: History

Environmental problems are not new

Many examples from history of human inducedenvironmental collapse

Maya

Easter Island

Famous geographerJared Diamond


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Characteristics:

Usually small scale: limited to a small area

Involve change in a limited number of the

environmental conditions, e.g. water availability, soilerosion, trees

Not long lasting in scope


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Characteristics

Why?

Low population

Technology limitations: limits extent of impact


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Environmental Problems: Today

Today we still have small scale, localizedproblems

Pollution of local water ways

Loss of locally important plant and animal species


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Environmental Problems: Today

Today we still have small scale, localizedproblems

BUT as population has increased, technology

advanced, affluence increased, the humanimpact has accelerated so that many problemsare now global (Lecture 3)

Social organization unable to keep up


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World Environmental Problem

World Environment Problem: condition of theglobal biophysical environment whichnegatively affects humans. Maybe caused by

human activities or be entirely natural GEOG 200: focuses on those caused /

accelerated by humans and how humanscause the change

GEOG 200: focuses on the effects of thesehuman caused world environmentalproblems


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Systemic vs. Cumulative

Two types of world environmental problem

Systemic

Direct human impact on globally functioning

biophysical systems E.g. greenhouse gas emissions which affect the global

climate

E.g. CFCs which cause ozone depletion


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Two types of world environmental problem

Systemic

Cumulative

Changes that attain global significance through theirworldwide distribution (i.e. they happen everywhere)

E.g. Deforestation

E.g. Loss of prime agricultural land and wetlands


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Systemic orcumulative will determine policyresponse

Systemic = need global solutions

Cumulative = problem will be different indifferent locations (e.g. species loss due tofarming in the Amazon vs. mineral developmentin The Congo), therefore need specific local

policy


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Examples of World EnvironmentalProblems

Examples:

Anthropogenic climate change (systemic)

Deforestation (cumulative)

Biodiversity loss (cumulative)

Fish depletion (cumulative)

Habitat degradation (cumulative)

Ozone depletion (systemic)


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2. What is

Geography


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Time to Think

Take a few minutes and think about the followingquestion

What do you think geography is?

Write down a few key points


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Some Definitions

Literal translation = to write about the earth.

The study of the [bio]physical features of theearth and a human activity as it relates to these,

OED (2003) The purpose of geography is to provide 'a view

of the whole' earth by mapping the location ofplaces." Ptolemy (150 BC)

Geography is the study of the earthslandscapes, peoples, places and environments.It is, quite simply, about the world in which we

live, Royal Geographic Society (2008)


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A Contested Discipline

Geography meant different things, to differentpeople, at different times

No consensus on what Geography is

But we can identify key traditions in Geographycharacterized by specific approaches to study


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Traditions in Geography: A BriefHistory

Pre-20th century geography

Exploration and geography: Al Idrisi, Ibn Batuta,Columbus

Geography Militant: power of the empty space on themap, geography as the science of empire Livingstone, Stanley, Speke, Murchison


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Pre 20th century geography

Exploration and geography: Al Idrisi, Ibn Batuta,Columbus

Geography Militant: power of the empty space on themap, geography as the science of empire Livingstone, Stanley, Speke, Murchison

Scientific geography also emerges in 19th century: Von

Humboldt, Darwin, describe natural features;MacKinder and political geography


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Charles Darwin: Geographerpar

Alexander VonHumboldt


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20th century geography

Environmental determinism common

Trace links between climate, development & culture

Vigorous climate of Northern Europe

Languid climate of the tropics

Justify colonialism

In other areas, propose simple link betweenenvironment and human behaviour


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Ellen Semple


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Environmental determinism

Trace links between climate and inferior races

Vigorous climate of Northern Europe

Languid climate of the tropics

Justify colonialism

In other areas, propose simple link betweenenvironment and human behaviour

Discredits env. geography for many years


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Regional geography in 1920s, 30s, 40s

Focus on regional description of human and physicalenvironment

Geography languishes in academia

Dropped from Harvard in late 1940s

Crisis in Geography


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Regional geography

Quantitative geography

1960s Geographers want to make Geography moreacademic

Decide to use statistical and mathematical models inall studies


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Regional geography

Quantitative geography

Revolutionary geography

1970s: Marxist and feminist radical geography


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Contemporary Geography

Contemporary geography characterised byhow it approaches problems not theproblems it studies (more than maps andnaming capital cities!):

Focus on human biophysical systems, specificallyhow they interact together

Focus on spatial and temporal scale and howprocesses interact over different scales

Use of quantitative and qualitative approaches


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3. (Re) Emergence of

Environmental Issues inGeography


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(Re)Emergence

Env. determinism limits geographical researchon environmental issues

But in the 1970s / 80s environmental issues gain

ground (Lectures 3&4) Geographers realize they are well placed to

tackle these issues

Env. problems involve complex interplay betweenhuman and biophysical drivers, geography has longhistory of studying human-env interaction

Scale important: many local changes due to non-localprocesses


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Geographers Take a Lead Role

More importantly geographers see deficienciesin the research being done

1970s-80s common for researchers to identify

single causes to env. problems, often biophysicalin nature

Sahel desertification = climate change

Natural hazards = due to acts of god, caused by

physical events


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1980s common for researchers to identify singlecauses to env. problems, often biophysical innature

A number ofgeographers point out limitationsto this thinking

Not climateper se but human interaction with climatethat caused desertification

Many natural hazards not natural but human caused :social construction of hazards

Not neutral in terms of impacts poor andmarginalized loose out


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Key Players in the 80s

Piers Blaikie


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Root

Causes

Dynamic

Pressures

Unsafe

Conditions /

Impact on the

env.

HAZARD /ENV

PROBLEM

Pressure and Release Model

Blaikie et al. 1994


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Key Players in the 80s

Piers Blaikie Michael WattsKenneth Hewitt


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Environmental problems with global impactsand global causes emerge in 80s -90s: i.e.World env. problems

World env. problems = not easy problems butwicked problems

Multiple human and biophysical causes

Processes operating over many scales

Geographers well placed to take a lead rolewith focus on human-env. interaction (esp.with new approaches inc. GIS)


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4. Geographical

perspectives in practiceand the geographicaladvantage

C


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Example 1: Climate changeimpacts in the Arctic

Context: Climate changing rapidly in theArctic and predicted to continue

Physical science (Engineering, atmosph.

science) = Arctic vulnerable to climate change,indigenous peoples very vulnerable

WHY: Big changes in climate predicted therefore musthave large impacts

SOLUTION: Need to slow down climate change

E.g. Canada Climate Impact Study 1997; IPCC 2001;Arctic Climate Impact Assessment 2005


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But these studies only consider the role ofclimate in affecting people

Ford et al., 2006 model for understanding the

human impacts of global environmentalproblems in the Arctic

Multiple causes, multiple scales, feedbacksimportant

The Geographical Advantage


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The Geographical advantage

Results are quite different!

Lots of change predicted but indigenous peoples highly

adaptable Problem is not climate changeper se, but social and

economic stresses which make it hard for people to adapt

Policy can address these to reduce the impacts of climate

change

Broadened our understanding of the problems


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Time to Think

Think about problems caused by climate change(e.g. increasing temps, more extreme weather,more flooding, more drought, rising sea levelsetc). Talk to your neighbor about how your

discipline would approach the problem.


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Example 2: Land-use change anddisease

Sleeping sickness affects large areas of sub-Saharan Africa

Spread from animals to humans by the tsetse

fly What causes epidemics and spread (e.g.

1970s and 80s re-emergence?


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E l 2 d h d


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Example 2: Land-use change anddisease

Sleeping sickness affects large areas of sub-Saharan Africa

Spread from animals to humans by the tsetse

fly What causes epidemics and spread (e.g.

1970s and 80s re-emergence?

Biological sciences = focused on distribution oftsetse fly. Cause of sleeping sickness re-emergence in 1970s and 80s = land use changewhich affect tsetse fly


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Biological perspective inadequate to fully explainre-emergence

Berrang-Ford et al (2005) model

Multiple human and biophysical causes at differentscales affect tsetse fly distribution and humaninteraction with the tsetse fly

Need to go beyond just focusing on distribution of the

tsetse fly Looks at Ugandan case


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The geographical advantage

Civil conflict main driver of re-emergence; in 1970s and80s: dictator Idi Amin in Uganda

Compromised health of individuals, health system collapse, tsetsecontrol scales down, people flee villages to the bush where tsetsefly live

Human conditions affect how people interact with the fly


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Time to Think

Think of a world environmental problem that youknow the most about

Note down some of the key features

geographers might focus on when studying theproblem (remember geographers look how thehuman and biophysical world interact, andexamine the role of scale)

Discuss with your neighbour or think on yourown


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Summary

Defined world environmental problem

Explored what geography is

Examined how geographers began to play lead

roles in world environmental problems research Reviewed some key geographical perspectives

on world environmental problems


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Next Class

Required readings: Myers, N. (1998), Kates et al (2001), Sachs and Reid

(2006)

All short readings

2-geography and world environmental problems

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